Musical WI: What if Gilbert and Sullivan stopped collaborating before 'Mikado?'

Good morning, everybody!

Gilbert and Sullivan are perhaps two of the most easily recognizable figures in the world of European operetta, having composed fourteen short operas throughout their extensive colloboration. However, whilst researching for my next show - 'The Mikado - or the Town of Tittipu' - I discovered that the two almost came to an impasse prior to its composing. Sullivan was keen to pursue 'serious' music, and was also conscious of his health:
"...I have been continually keeping down the music in order that not one [syllable] should be lost... I should like to set a story of human interest & probability where the humorous words would come in a humorous (not serious) situation, & where, if the situation were a tender or dramatic one the words would be of similar character."
As a result, Gilbert was forced to rewrite plots he'd been developing in order to coax Sullivan back into the business. The adverse could have interesting consequences for the development of British opera.
I'm not anticipating any great response to this, but I'd like to hear what people have to say!
 
From what I can gather, the main objection was the presence of a Magic Lozenge that Sullivan felt was too silly and too similar to an earlier collaboration The Sourcerer. They seem to have sorted things out pretty independently though, so I'm not sure of exactly what would be needed to get the opposite result.
 
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